Ilke Platt

As all roads will lead to the Safari Hotel this week, much anticipation is focused on the ceremony. So, what happens after research has been completed? What impact does a graduate make after spending endless nights, gathering various sources of information on a particular topic? 

According to Trading Economics, “unemployment rate in Namibia decreased to 33.40 percent in 2018 from 34 percent in 2016. Unemployment rate in Namibia averaged 27.94 percent from 1997 until 2018, reaching an all-time high of 37.60 percent in 2008 and a record low of 19.50 percent in 1997.” 

With that stated, it leads one to question whether graduates utilise their research to make an impact on the topic of choice and whether they have allowed their research to make an impact? This goes hand in hand with their ability to enter the job market with the wealth of information that they have. 

Research helps corporates, entrepreneurs and the community at large to prove speculations and facts about gaps in any identified industry. The facilitation and creation of such platforms to discuss findings are critical to improve the status quo in each researchers’ field of study. Once graduation ceremonies are done, it’s the responsibility of each individual to share their findings. This is one of the most effective ways to bring change into society. 

Graduates should urge themselves to implement their findings and also assess the impact of their research through measurable tools. A lot of factors can contribute to the success of distributing this information and make it more effective. 
The sharing of research results should be customised according to the audience and should reflect the main goal. Graduates should also consider formal or informal gatherings to ensure that the message gets carried across in a comprehensive manner. Findings should always be attractive and the information should be concise, interesting, worth listening and use illustrations to break down all of the statistics gathered. 

In addition, one should identify the appropriate audience for the particular research findings to make it worth-while. One should list the most appropriate methods of distributing the information and identify the most common barriers and strategies for eliminating them by engaging necessary and important role players to implement that change.  In conclusion, don’t allow your research to gather dust. Research is a very powerful tool, to spark the mind, human behavior and also perception. 

* Ilke Platt is a Ph.D. candidate. She chairs PRISA Namibia and is the Director of Poiyah Media